Abuse and Love
by A Ginger named Heather Lee
Summary: Katniss' mother is abusive instead of Peeta's and because of this they get to know eachother. Peeta loves Katniss already but Katniss doesn't believe in love because it leads to marriage and children and she doesn't want to end up like her mother.
1. Chapter 1

**I don't own any of The Hunger Games Series… Suzanne Collins does. **

I come home in the pouring down rain with an empty game bag slung over my shoulder. All of the animals hid during the down pour and I wasn't lucky enough for my snares to catch anything. This was going to put my mother on edge, and possible push her over the edge enough to make her hit me. It wouldn't be anything new; I usually get hit at least once a day for something that isn't my fault. I am covered in bruises and scars all of the time. Mother never hits Prim though, that I'm thankful for. Prim doesn't deserve to get beaten and she doesn't because she reminds mother of a younger version of herself. She loves things that remind her of the life she had when she still lived in town with the wealthy.

I make my way up to the front porch, wring out my dripping hair, open the door and step inside. I take off my shoes and set them on a small floor mat, I also hang my jacket up on a hook. Then I walk into the kitchen where mother is cutting a loaf of bread and Prim is making tea. "Did you catch anything?" Prim asks with a smile. I shake my head, "Sorry Prim, all of the little animals were hiding from me today." "That's okay Katniss, we still have bread and cheese that I made from lady's milk. Plus I'm making tea." "Katniss make yourself useful and set the table." Mother says in her cold voice. I nod and start taking the glass plates from the cabinet. Mother loves these plates, they were a wedding gift from one of her town friends. I pick up one of the plates and start carrying it to the table when I trip over Buttercup, Prim's ugly evil cat, and drop the plate. It shatters on the floor. My ankle feels like it's strained from tripping over Buttercup but I crouch down and start cleaning up the mess. _Mother isn't going to be happy_, I think.

Then I hear her, "Can't you do anything right? You don't bring home food for us then you break one of my wedding gifts!" Then I stand up and she smacks me across the face, I fall again. She continues to kick me in my side and when she's done with that she picks me up by my hair and starts pulling me towards the door. "I want you to leave and come back. I can't even stand to look at you!" With that she opens the door and throws me outside. I fall off the porch and land in a puddle of mud. I get up and start running. _I need to get away from her_, I think. I run through the muddy, rocky streets of the Seam. Then I feel the Seam streets turn into sidewalk, I'm in the town. I keep running until I catch my foot on a section of the sidewalk and fall, bringing my face to the ground. Then everything goes black.


	2. Chapter 2

**I don't know if I said it before but there are no games in my story.**

Peeta POV

"Peeta can you go see if there are any customers on the street. If not I don't really see the point of staying open with all of this rain." My dad said from behind the bakery counter. Even though dad loves to be open and to see people's faces when they buy delicious breads and deserts, he doesn't see the point in wasting a day sitting in the bakery when he doesn't have to.

I walk over to the door and don't see anyone walking. "No Dad, there aren't any customs outside." I say. Then I glance out the door again. I notice that there is something on the sidewalk across the street. "Hey dad I'll be right back." Then I take of without waiting for his reply. When I reach the other side of the street I realize that it's a person, a girl actually, but I can't see who it is because her hair is covering her face. It's brown hair and I can only hope that it's not her, that it's not Katniss.

I first saw her and fell in love with her on the first day of school, when we were five. She has had a pretty rough life ever since her father died, but it got better when my mother let me take her some bread. She had wandered into the ally behind my house and was looking into our garbage cans. I couldn't stand to see her like that so I asked my mother if I could take her some bed my mother agreed and I took the bread outside. I couldn't bring myself to walk over to her so I tossed it to her. She never thanked me, but she didn't have to. Seeing her at school not starving was good enough for me.

I move the hair out of the girl's face only to see that it is her. I pick her up and carry her back towards the house. I open the door and bring her inside. Rye, my brother that hasn't moved out yet, is sitting in the living room. "Peeta, what did you do to your girlfriend? She looks like hell." He says. "Rye shut up. She's not my girlfriend, just go find mom." Then I go up stairs and make a left into my room. I shared a room with Rye when Jackson, my oldest brother, still lived here. He moved out two years ago when I was fourteen. Rye moved into his room and I got my own room.

I open my bedroom door and lay Katniss down on the bed. I finally have time to see what Rye meant when he said that she looked like hell. She has a cut on her forehead and her cheek is red and swelled up. There are bruises all over both of her arms but most of them look old. I guess this is why she wears her jacket everyday, even when it's extremely hot outside. She has a hole in the knee of her jeans, what looks like a sprained ankle, and her feet are muddy and covered in small cuts. And the one thought that keeps running through my mind is, _What happened to her?_

My mom appears in my door was with a wet wash cloth in her hand. "Peeta, what happened to her?" "Mom," I say, "I keep asking myself the same question." She sighs and starts to clean her off. My mom might not be a doctor like Katniss' mom, but she always seems to know what to do to make people feel better. "Peeta we need to get her out of these wet clothes, we don't know how long she was out there but we need to try to keep her from getting pneumonia. She most likely has a cold already and possibly pneumonia, but we need to do everything we can. Can you go into my room and get a nightgown for her?" I nod and take off for my mom's room. I go to her dresser and pull out a nightgown, then I head back into my room. I get there and my mom is leaning over Katniss looking at her head. "Peeta it may be worse than we thought. She has a fever and might have a concussion." That's when I notice it, she is shaking, a sign of fever.

I want to help her so badly but I think that she is in better care with my mom. I walk over to the bed and hand her the nightgown. "Peeta," she says, "why don't you go take a shower in my bathroom? I'm going to need the one in here so I can keep wetting her washcloth. You go take a shower and change into dry clothes, the last thing we need is you getting sick too." I didn't even realize that I was wet, I was too worried about Katniss. I won't be much help to Katniss if I'm sick too so I nod and leave my room. But first I head downstairs to the laundry room to grab a clean pair of jeans to change into when I'm done with my shower.

I start to head to the laundry room when I see Rye still sitting in the living room, watching T.V. "Rye, do you ever do anything besides watch T.V.?" I ask. He looks at me, "Do you ever do anything besides stalk that poor little Seam girl?" I feel my face turn red, partly from embarrassment, partly from anger. I walk over and stand in front of him, "You don't know what you're talking about." He stands up, "You're in love with her and she doesn't even know you exist." Luckily my Dad walks in, "Rye knock it off and leave Peeta alone." He just sits back down on the couch and starts flipping through the channels. I go and get a pair of jeans and then head upstairs. The water in the shower is warm and relaxing, but the only thing I can think about is Katniss. I quickly finish my shower and get dressed.

When I head back into my room Katniss is clean and wearing the nightgown. She is still shivering, but she does look a little better. I walk over to my mom who is sitting in the chair next to the bed, "Mom, why don't you go get something to eat? I can watch her for awhile." She gives me a smile, "Thank you Peeta. Just try to get her to stop shivering, you can get her some extra blankets from the closest in the hall if you need to." I give her and nod and she leaves, closing the door behind her. I go over to the chair that my mom was sitting in and take a seat. I tuck a strand of hair behind her ear and brush my thumb over her cheek. She starts to stir and then her eyes flutter open.


	3. Chapter 3

Katniss POV

My eyes flutter open and I look around the room I'm in. I don't know where I am and my clothes have been replaced with a nightgown. I scan the room again but this time I see someone in a chair next to me. I move over to the side of the bed I am in. In panic I cringe back away from him, "Please don't hit me." "Katniss, why would I hit you?" He asks me sweetly. I look at him again, only this time I really pay attention. He has sandy blonde hair that falls on his forehead and the striking blue eyes. "Peeta?" I say. "Where am I?" "You're in my house. I found you outside about an hour ago. Katniss someone did this to you didn't they? Who was it?"

He's talking slowly but it still takes me a little while to understand him. I can't tell him that my mom did this to me, I don't know how he would react so I don't answer him. "Peeta I can't stay here." I turn to leave and he run around the bed to the side of the room with the door. I stand up but my ankle hurts badly and I get so dizzy that the room starts to move. I fall down but Peeta catches me. He lays me back down on the bed and covers me up with a blanket. That's when I realize how cold I am, "It's freezing in here Peeta." He lifts his hand and starts to move it towards my head. I cringe away from him again. "Katniss, are you going to tell me who did this to you? And I'm not going to hit you, I just need to feel your temperature." I nod and let him check my forehead. Immediately he frowns, "I'll be right back." He says.

He leaves the room and comes back a few minutes later with his mother. "Hi Katniss. It's nice to see that you're awake. You're pretty banged up though. You need to stay in bed." I manage a weak smile, "That's very kind of you Mrs. Mellark, but I really can't bother you. I should le- "I stop myself, I was going to say leave but I don't have a place to go. When my mother threw me outside she told me not to come back, which means that I can't come back to Prim either.

At the thought I start crying, Prim is my whole world and now I have to leave her in the hands of our mother. I can only hope that she doesn't start beating Prim. "Katniss, are you okay?" Peeta asks me. I just nod my head and stop the tears from flowing. Then he turns to his mom, "Can you go downstairs and make Katniss some soup? It might help warm her up." She looks at me and then back at Peeta, "Of course I can." Then she leaves and closes the door on her way out. Peeta crosses to the bed and sits next to me. "You can trust me you know. If you don't want me to tell, I won't." The look in his eyes makes me believe him. I nod me head and take a deep breath. "Peeta… My mom is abusive. And today she kicked me out of the house." It didn't come out the way I wanted it to, I sound shaky and scared. "That's horrible, for more than one reason. No one should ever be abused, and she kicked you out. You're only sixteen." He says. Then he reaches over and puts his hand in mine.

At first I want to pull away, but then I don't. I remind myself that I can trust him, and then I realize how warm his hand is. "Peeta, your hand is really warm." I hold it a little tighter wanting his warmth to reach my entire body. "You warm too. I should probably get your wash cloth wet again." He tries to stand up but I pull him back down next to me. "No, I'm freezing. Please just stay." He gives me a smile, "Come here." He pulls me on his lap and wraps his arms around me. Instantly I feel warmer and I lay my head against his chest. I know that it isn't like me but it feels good. Not just because he's warm but because it feels right for some reason, sitting with him. I feel something for him. I don't want to but I do. I have ever since he threw me the bread, he didn't have to but he did. I never let myself feel anything for him. I don't want to fall for him because that could lead to me ending up like my mother. Right now it couldn't hurt to let myself sit here with him though, could it?

We sit there for about fifteen minutes and I am so close to falling asleep when he says, "You should lay down. My mom could be up any minute with you soup. I yawn and he lets go of my waist. I lay back down and he gets up and moves to the chair beside the bed.

Within five minutes Peeta's mom brings my soup in. It's the best chicken noodle soup I've ever had. I guess I am sick because I started to feel nauseous half way through the bowl and stop. I thank her for the delicious soup and feel like sleeping. The only problem is that I feel out of place in this house, but I think I can sleep if Peeta is here. I lay down and start to drift off when Peeta gets up from his chair and starts walking towards the door. "Peeta wait!" I say. "I don't think I can sleep here without you. I'm not used to your house." He looks at me and gives me a small smile before he returns to his chair. I hold his hand as I fall asleep.


	4. Chapter 4

Katniss POV

I wake up and it takes me a minute to figure out where I am. Then I remember that I am in Peeta's room, but when I look around Peeta isn't there. "Peeta?" I say. I scan the room again and this time my eyes fall on a pair of crutches that are next to the bed. I stand up and grab the crutches. I go out the door and realize that I don't know what the rest of the Peeta's house looks like. When he brought me here I was unconscious. When I look around the upstairs I see that besides Peeta's room there are two other doors. My guess is that they are bedrooms, one for his parents and one for his brother. At the end of the hallway is a staircase. I make my way over to the stairs and look down. I've used crutches before but my house is all one floor, there are only three stairs on the porch so I don't have experience with going up and down stairs with crutches.

I remember the day I twisted my ankle. It happened a little over a year ago and I was in the woods hunting with Gale and- WAIT! I completely forgot about Gale! He'll be worried sick. He was probably waiting by my house this morning to walk Prim and I to school. I know Prim most likely told him what happened, but neither of them know where I stayed last night or where I am today.

I hobble my way down the stairs, getting a little dizzy along the way, and find myself in the living room. "Peeta?" I say again. It's not Peeta who answers me but his mom. "Morning Katniss, Peeta's not home. It's Friday and he's at school. He asked me if he could stay home and help look after you but I told him no. Are you hungry? I can get you so breakfast." I nod my head, "That would be great, thanks." Then she heads back into the kitchen. I sit down on their couch and turn on the T.V. set. As I flip through the channels my mind is focused on something Peeta's mom said, _'He asked me if he could stay home and help me look after you but I said no.' _ Why would he want to stay home with a seam girl when he could go to school and hang out with his friends? I like Peeta but there's no way he could have feelings for me, could he?

I find some Capitol game show on where you get quizzed about Capitol fashions, but I'm not really paying attention. I get snapped back into reality when Mrs. Mellark brings in a bowl of oatmeal. It's not like any oatmeal I've ever had though. It has fruit, nuts, and sugar in it. "Thank you." I say. I take one bit, it delicious, but I'm only able to finish three fourths of it. At least this time I'm able to finish more of my food than I was able to last night. When I'm done Mrs. Mellark takes the bowl and puts it in the kitchen sink.

The day consists of me sitting on the couch watching T.V., trying to eat whatever Mrs. Mellark puts in front of me, and having her look at my injuries. It turns out that I have a sprained ankle, a fever that keeps rising and falling, a bump on my head (surprisingly isn't a concussion), and a lot of scrapes, cuts, and bruises. When Mrs. Mellark is unwrapping my ankle and putting a brace on it she asks, "Katniss, if it isn't too much to ask, how did you get these injuries?" So Peeta didn't tell her, but I already could have guessed that. I don't know if I'm ready to tell her yet. I think about it for a minute when she says, "It's okay, you don't have to tell me. But you look tired, how about you go upstairs and take a nap?" I give her a nod and she helps me get up the stairs. On the way up I get really dizzy and have to stop a few times so I don't fall down the stairs.

When I get to Peeta's room I lay down she feels my forehead again. "Your fever has gone back up again. I'll get you a wash cloth." No doubt me fever has gone up because of my little trip up the stairs. She leaves and comes back with a wash cloth, a glass of water, and some fever pills. She puts the wash cloth on my forehead and hands me the water and fever pills. "Now Katniss, the medicine is going to make you drowsy but since you're going to take a nap it won't really matter." I take the pills and within a few minutes my eyelids start to droop. Then I fall asleep.


	5. Chapter 5

Katniss POV

The next thing I know I feel someone's hand brushing hair out of my face. I don't bother to open my eyes though. Then I hear them talk, "Catnip, are you awake?" My eyes fly open and for a minute everything is too bright. After a few second my eyes adjust, "Gale?" I ask. "How did you know where I was? Where's Peeta and Prim? How long have you been here?" He laughs a little, "Slow down a little Catnip. I'll explain everything." I take a deep breath and give him a nod, letting him know that he can talk.

"I walked to your house this morning to walk you and Prim to school but when Prim walked outside she was crying. I asked her what was wrong and she told me about your mom. Katniss you could have told me. I could have helped you. You could have lived with me." I shake my head, "Gale I had to stay, for Prim. I couldn't leave her there without me." He looks like he wants to argue with me but he knows it's pointless, so he just continues with his story. "The school day was pretty normal. When we were dismissed I went to find Prim to tell her that I was going to look for you. When I found her, Mellark was already talking to her. He told us that he found you and that you were at his house. Then he brought us here, we've been here for about fifteen minutes."

I reach up and feel my forehead, my fever is still there but it did go down some. I also have a pounding headache. "How do you feel?" He asks me. "Terrible, can you go get Peeta and Prim for me." He nods and leaves the room. The pounding in my head gets worse but it can wait I have to see Prim. The next thing I know I see her walking through the door. "Katniss!" She runs over to me and I hug her. "Prim, it's going to be okay. You can stay at home as long as mom doesn't hurt you. Don't tell anyone what mom did are they could send us away and put us in the foster care system. Okay." She gives me a nod. "Prim, as much as I want you to stay, you should probably let Gale take you home. I don't want mom to get mad at you." I kiss her on the cheek. "I love you Katniss." She says. "I love you too Prim." Then she leaves with Gale.

I turn to Peeta, "Thank you for telling them." He nods. "Katniss, can I ask you something?" "Sure." I say. "Do you like Hawthorne?" I feel myself blush a little. "Peeta, he's like my big brother. Why do you ask?" "I… I was always jealous of him. I thought that you two were together." My mind catches one word, "Jealous?" I ask. "Katniss, I like you, actually it's more than that. I've been in love with you since we were five. I heard you sing and I was a goner. But I don't expect you to like me or anything. You-" I press my lips to his. I surprise him but after a few seconds he starts kissing me back. When we both stop for air he says, "Does this mean you like me too?" I nod my head and he starts smiling like crazy. "Peeta, there's something you should know." "What is it?" He asks. "I can't do this." I can tell by the look on his face that he is confused. "Katniss, I don't get it. If we both like each other what's the problem?" I look into his blue eyes, "I don't want to end up like my mother."

Peeta POV

"That would never happen." I tell her. "You don't know that Peeta." She says. "Yes I do. I see how you are with Prim. There is no way that you could end up like your mother." "Do you promise?" She asks me. "I promise." I brush a strand of hair off of her forehead when I feel how hot she is. "Katniss you're burning up. Does your head hurt?" I ask. She nods her head a little, "I have a pounding headache." She lowers herself back down, resting her head on the pillow. "I'll be right back, I'm going to get my mom."

I kiss her on the forehead and head out of the room. I go down the stairs and find my mom in the living room. "Mom, Katniss is burning up. What should I give her?" I ask. She stands up and goes to the kitchen. She opens a cabinet and pulls out a bottle on pills. "Give her two of these. They will help bring the fever down and stop the pain, but it's going to make her drowsy again." I give her a nod and run back upstairs to my room. When I get there Katniss has her fists pressed to her temples. I take Katniss' glass from earlier off of the nightstand and fill it up in the bathroom sink. I come out of the bathroom, hand her the glass of water, and give her the pills. "My mom says to take those. They'll stop the pain and bring down the fever but you're going to get drowsy. Okay?" She nods and takes the medicine.

Then I notice that she's shivering again. "Katniss, are you cold?" I ask. She nods. "Okay, I'll go get some of the extra blankets from the hall closet. I'll be right back." Then I start walking to the door. She grabs my wrist, "No." I turn around and see her scoot over to the other side of the bed. She motions for me to come and lay down with her. I smile and lay down next to her. Within minutes I can tell that the medicine is working because she doesn't look like she's in pain and her eyes keep closing. Every time her eyes close her opens them really wide, trying to keep herself awake. "Katniss, it's okay if you sleep. I won't leave." She looks at me and kisses me before letting herself fall asleep.


	6. Chapter 6

Katniss POV

_-I see Mom hurt Prim, over and over. I try go to her but I can't move. I start screaming but no one can hear me. She takes the slaps, punches, and kicks. Finally mom stops when Prim stops moving. She dead, and I there was nothing I could do to stop it.-_

I wake up screaming and crying as arms wrap around me and try to calm me down. I try to push them away but they just hold on tighter. When I realize that it's Peeta I throw my arms around him. "Peeta, she was killed. She was gone." "I know I heard you screaming her name. But it's not real Katniss. It was just a dream." He whispers in my ear. I start sobbing harder, "But it could be real Peeta, Prim really could be beaten like that." He shakes his head, "Do you really think that your mom would hurt Prim? Prim is all she has left." I look up into his eyes, they always make me believe that whatever he says is true. I nod my head and let him calm me down.

After about ten minutes I'm fine. "Peeta," I say, "I think the medicine made it harder for me to wake up. I don't want anymore." "But Katniss if your fever-" "No." I cut in. "I can't handle another one of those nightmares." He sighs, "Okay. Are you hungry? It's seven a clock and the rest of my family will be up eating breakfast." I nod, then I remember the stairs. "Ugh… I hate the stairs in your house, no offense. There are way too many of them." He looks at me and smiles, "You don't have to use them to get downstairs you know." I'm confused, "Peeta, what are you talking about?" Then, all of a sudden he picks me up and walks out of his bedroom. I start laughing and I can feel myself blush. "This isn't necessary." "Are you crazy?" He says. "Of course it is." I just blush a little more when we finally reach the bottom and Peeta's brother, Rye, is sitting in a chair in the living room. Peeta set me down on the couch and said, "I'm going to get you some breakfast, I'll be right back." He went into the kitchen and left Rye and us alone together in the living room.

"So…" He said. "Are you and Peeta, like, a couple now?" I like at him and can tell that he's trying to mess with me somehow but I answer him anyway. "I guess you could say that." He laughs a little, "I hope I can say that. My mom went in Peeta's room to check on you guys last night and found you two sleeping together." I feel my face turn bright red with embarrassment. "It's not what you think." I say quietly. "Oh, what is it then?" He says in an accusing voice. "Because I think that Peeta's using you." What is he talking about? Peeta wouldn't do that to me. "What are you talking about?" I ask confused. "Well… he's Peeta." "And what is that supposed to mean?" I ask, getting angrier by the second. He laughs a little. "You know what I'm talking about." "No," I say. "Peeta loves me." He raises his eyebrows, "Then I guess the real question is, Do you love him?" I think about it for a second and find the only answer that exists. "Yes." I say. Then he rises from the couch, "Good, now if you don't mind, I'm starving." He leaves and walks into the kitchen.

Peeta comes back a few minutes later. "Sorry about the wait." Then he places a bowl of oatmeal in front of me. "Hey, what do you think of Rye?" "Well…" I say. "Is he always this strange?" Peeta starts laughing and we eat our oatmeal together without Rye interrupting.


	7. Chapter 7

Katniss POV

When I go to bed that night Peeta sleeps in the chair next to the bed so that Peeta's mom doesn't see us in the same bed again. He doesn't complain and he holds my hand while I fall asleep.

In the morning I'm happy when I roll over and see Peeta, realizing its Saturday. "Good Morning Katniss." He said leaning foreword, kissing my forehead. "Good Morning to you too." I said stretching my arms up over my head. "So," He asks, "What are we going to do today?" I give him a little smile, "I need to practice walking so I can go to school on Monday, but right now I'm starving!" Then he leans down and picks me up, just like he did was yesterday. I laugh a little, "Peeta, don't you think I should at least try to walk downstairs by myself?" He starts walking down the stairs, "Not on an empty stomach." I know it's useless to tell him to put me down so I just decide not to fight it, besides, I like it when he holds me.

When we get to the bottom of the stairs he sets me on the couch and goes to the kitchen, like he did yesterday. This time I'm the only one in the living room. There's no Rye to ask me strange questions that don't make sense. Fifteen minutes later Peeta comes back with a stack of pancakes.

After that he carries me back upstairs. He finds me a pair of jeans of his mom's that he thinks will fit and a t-shirt from his dresser. Being the gentleman that he is, he leaves the room while I change. It takes me a little while to get the jeans on without them hurting my ankle but I do manage. Then I slip the t-shirt on with no trouble at all. "Peeta," I say. "It's safe to come in." The door opens slowly and Peeta walks in. I don't even have to ask before he comes and sits beside me on the bed. "So," He asks, "what do we do now?" I smile and lean foreword. "I have an idea…" I smile and press my lips to his. He kisses back but we're interrupted by a loud knock on the door. I jump and Peeta laughs a little before he gets up and opens the door. It's Rye.

"Hey Peeta, there are some people here to see your girlfriend." Peeta walks back over to the bed and picks me up. "Peeta, really?" I can't help but laugh. He smiles, "I'd let you walk but your crutches are at the bottom of the stairs." "No you wouldn't." I say laughing harder. "You're right." As he carries me down the stairs I lay my head against his chest. "Are you still tired?" He asks. I go to argue with him but I'm interrupted by yawning, proving myself wrong and Peeta right. "You can take a nap when you're done talking to whoever it is that wants to talk to you." I nod and yawn again, which makes Peeta laugh even harder.

When we get to the bottom of the stairs Peeta sets me down and hands me my crutches. "Is there anything I can do to thanks you for carrying me down the stairs?" I ask, then I raise my eyebrows and smile. "I've got an idea…" Then we both lean foreword and our lips meet in the middle. For a few seconds I'm lost in the feeling of Peeta's lips. Then I hear a door close, "Catnip?"


	8. Chapter 8

Katniss POV

My lips leave Peeta's and when I turn around I see the only person who calls me Catnip. "Gale I-" "Katniss, we need to talk." He said it, he used my full name, now I know I'm in trouble. Then he is out the door. I go to follow him but Peeta grabs my arm, "Please, be careful." "Don't worry." I say, "Gale is my best friend, he wouldn't hurt me." He kisses my forehead before letting my arm go and opening the front door to let me out. When I get outside I see Gale pacing back and forth, angrily running his hands through his hair. When I make it off the porch I don't look at him, I stare straight at the ground.

"How could you Katniss? He is from town, not from the Seam. People are going to judge you." Without looking at him I say, "Gale I don't care. I…" I let my sentence trail off because I look up and can see Gale is getting more mad. "You what, Katniss? You love him? Guys like him only want one thing from girls like you, and obviously you're giving it to him." It takes me a minute to process what he is saying. "Gale, He isn't like that and I am not sleeping with him! He loves me and I love him." "What about me Katniss! I love you! I've been there for you since we were eleven and you just met him!" I don't want to be hearing him tell me this. "Gale, we're best friends nothing more." I say shaking my head. "He comes towards me and grabs my arm, "Please, give me a chance."

I want to tell him no but before I get the chance to his lips are on mine. I try to push him away but he is to strong so I pull my head back, "Peeta!" I yell, but that's the only thing I am able to stay before Gale's lips are on mine again. It only takes a few seconds until Peeta comes crashing through the front door. Peeta pushes him off of me and I drop my crutches. Then I sit on the ground in the dirt and hang my head in my hands. I hear a few punches being thrown but I can't bear to look. I don't want to see my so-called best friend beat up my boyfriend. After a minute I hear more of Peeta's family come out of the house, Peeta's brother and dad come out to break up the fight and Peeta's mom helps me up, hands me the crutches, and gets me into the house. She sets me on the couch and I finally start crying. I can't believe Gale, and I don't like the fact that Gale and Peeta were fighting. I bury my head in one of the pillows sitting on the couch and cry even harder.

I sit there crying for about five minutes when the front door opens and I hear three pairs of feet come inside. Then someone sits on the couch next to me. I feel a hand on my shoulder and instantly know who it is. I sit up with my eyes closed and stop crying. I wipe my eyes and then open them. I don't look at Peeta yet, instead I put my hands in my lap and look at them. Peeta talks first, "Katniss, are you mad at me?" I don't really know. I know that I don't want him fighting with my best friend, or at least I thought he was my best friend. I know that I was scared that one of them was going to get hurt. I know that I love Peeta and he loves me and that he was only trying to protect me. I know that Gale kissed me and Peeta was there to help me. To answer him I say, "I love you…" But I still don't look at him.

After a minute of silence I can't take it anymore I finally look at him. "Are you going to say anything?" He looks at me and I do the first thing I can think of, I kiss him. He doesn't respond at first but then kisses me back. His lips are soft and gently, not like Gale's lips. The kiss ends to soon and when we pull apart he just looks at me and says, "So I take it you're not mad at me anymore?" I push him back playfully and just laugh.

**Sorry I haven't posted in a while but my cousins are in from Hawaii and I was sick last week. I think that there will only be one or two more chapters but I'm not sure. I hope everyone likes my story so far! Please review. :)**


	9. Chapter 9

**For those of you asking you won the fight, Peeta's dad and brother came outside, broke up the fight, and sent Gale home… sorry that I didn't clarify that at the end of the last chapter. **

Katniss POV

The rest of the weekend is spent with Peeta helping me walk without the crutches, helping me with homework from Friday, baking me a batch of cookies, and watching TV with me. Prim also brought me some of my clothes. It isn't until Sunday night that I start to worry. What will people think when I walk to school with Peeta? Will people treat Prim differently? What will they do to Peeta? I'm used to being looked at weirdly and being talked about but Peeta is a popular town kid, he is liked by everyone.

When I come out of the bathroom after changing into my pajamas Peeta can tell something is wrong. "Katniss, is something bothering you?" He comes up to me and tucks a strand of hair behind my ear. I shrug my shoulders; it's useless lying to Peeta, he says I'm a bad liar.

"It's about school tomorrow, isn't it?" He says. I sigh, he can see right through me. He tilts my chin up so I have no choice but to look into his blue eyes. "There's nothing to worry about." He says. I close my eyes and shake my head, "Yes there is. Don't you think that people are going to talk? I have been living at your house for the past few days, there are bound to be rumors about that and you're going to be walking me into school, letting everyone know that we are together. Peeta, stuff like us doesn't just happen. You're from town, I'm from the Seam." Then I walk across the room and look out the window, my back facing Peeta.

I love Peeta, I really do, but I am the kind of person who worries about everything. It doesn't help when I think about what happened between Gale and Peeta. Peeta escaped the fight before Gale hurt him but Peeta caught Gale off guard, Gale probably looks worse. It doesn't help that Gale was the one to point out the fact that people were going to judge Peeta and I.

I'm pulled out of my thoughts when Peeta comes up behind me and wraps his arms around my waist. "Katniss, I know that people are going to talk but I don't care, I love you." I sigh, "I love you to Peeta." "My friends won't say anything, they have known that I have liked you since we were five." What he says makes me think. I turn around, "Why didn't you ever talk to me?" His friends must have tried to get him to talk to me. "Hawthorne, I always thought that there was something between you two, but when did you start liking me?" I turn towards the windows again, "When we were eleven." I say. "Why didn't you talk to me?" He asks, using my question against me. "My mom, and the fact that you are from town." Honestly, both of my reasons scare me. My mom is abusive and town people usually like to gossip about other town people from town.

I hear him walk towards me so I turn back around. "You don't have to worry about your Mom anymore and I don't care if you're from the Seam or not, you shouldn't either." He wraps his arms around me and I lay my head on his chest, then I close my eyes. I sigh, I like the feeling of being in Peeta's arms to much to keep up the argument. "Peeta, can we go to bed? I'm tired and don't want to talk about this anymore." He nods and lets me go. I walk over to the bed and lay down, but my mind keeps racing. Peeta turns the light off, sets his alarm clock, and then sits in the chair that he has been sleeping in for the past few days. I cover myself up with blankets and close my eyes, I soon fall asleep think about what everyone else will say tomorrow.


	10. Chapter 10

Katniss POV

When I wake up it isn't from a nightmare, I just feel restless and I can't stop thinking about tomorrow. I look at the clock, 1:26. So I guess I can't stop thinking about today. I carefully separate my hand from Peeta's, who is sleeping soundly in the chair by the bed, and stand up. I walk over to the window and open it. Peeta likes to sleep with the windows open but he found out it was going to be cold tonight and decided to close it for me.

As the air from outside comes in the window and hits me I can feel goosebumps rising on my arms because I am wearing a short sleeve t-shirt. Peeta was right, it is cold outside, but it's fresh air and that's all that matters to me. I lean out the window and look outside. I can see the school in the distance. In just a few hours I will be walking there with Peeta, people staring at us along the way. Suddenly the room feels suffocating, so I climb out the window and sit on top of the roof overhang that covers the Mellarks' porch.

I sit with my legs crossed and I start fidgeting with the pull-strings on my sweatpants. I look back up and see all of the other merchant families' houses. Not only will I be judged by the other students but as I walk through town I will be judged be their parents. I turn the other direction and I see the house that I used to be able to call my home. Prim will probably hear things and try to stickup for me, only making things harder on her.

I look down at my hands and a drop of freezing rain falls on my hand. I look around and see icy patches forming on the roof around me. I stand up to go inside and a sudden gust of wind makes me shield my face from the wind and rain and take a step back. When I take a step back my foot finds a patch of ice and I start to slip. I close my eyes and brace myself for the impact but instead I feel a pull at my waist. When I open my eyes I see the ground below me but I'm not falling. I find my footing and stand, when I turn around I see that Peeta caught me, and his arms are still around me. He laughs a little, "You're lucky I was here." I give him a shy smile and I blush, "My hero…" I say. "Come on, let's get you inside before you try and hurt yourself again." I sigh and follow him back in through the window.

When we get inside I look at Peeta who is now looking at me with a very serious expression. "Katniss, you really need to be more careful. What were you doing outside anyway?" "I just needed to think." I say as I cross the room and sit in the bed. He follows and sits next to me, I lay my head on his shoulder. He kisses the top of my head, "I just want you to know that no matter what other people say about you, I will always love you." I nod and then yawn, I guess I'm getting tired again. Peeta lays me down on the bed and covers me up with the blankets. He stands up and my hand flies out from under the blankets and grabs his arm. "Please Peeta…" I ask. He smiles and lays down next to me, wrapping his strong arms around my waist. I fall asleep with my head laying on Peeta's bare chest.


	11. Chapter 11

Katniss POV

I wake up the next morning to the sun streaming in through the open window. If I wasn't lying next to Peeta right now I would be freezing. I look up at Peeta who is already awake and has a bad case of bed-head. "Good morning, Katniss." I smiled, "Morning, Peeta." Then he leaned down and kissed me, a great way to start my day. When our lips separated he throws the blankets off of us and leaps off the bed. I feel the cold air hit my body and I wrap my arms around my body. "Peeta, it is freezing in here!" He laughs and closes the window.

He walks over to the bed, "I can fix that." He sits next to me, pulls me onto his lap, and wraps his arms around me. I automatically feel warmer and I lay my head against his chest. We sit there for a minute before he says, "As nice as this is, we have to get ready for school." "Ugh!" I say as I hang my head back. "Can I skip school?" He shakes his head, "No. It'll be fine. I'll be there too.

As much as I wish that Peeta and I would be together all day we aren't. Peeta and I have all of our classes together except for English, which is the first class of the day, and lunch. I just nod my head and he lets go of me. I stand up and walk over to the bag of things that Prim brought me. I pull out a pair of jeans and a green t-shirt. Then I reach in and pull out my hunting boots and my father's hunting jacket that is now mine.

I turn to Peeta who has pulled an orange t-shirt and a pair of jeans out of his dresser. "Do you want to go first?" He asks motioning to the bathroom. "I can change in hear and use the bathroom when you're done." I nod and walk into the bathroom. I close the door and lock it behind me. Then I change out of my sweatpants and t-shirt into the clothes I plan on wearing today. I brush my teeth and hair. I slip my boots on and look in the mirror on before I put my jacket on.

I have bruises on my arms, so old and some new, but there are a lot of them. Then there are the scars. My mom doesn't cut me with knives or anything but she grabs my arms and throws me into my room or outside a lot. When she does her fingernails always cut into my skin. _Well at least its cold outside…_ I think. I leave my jacket on no matter what but at least now I have an excuse. I slip my jacket on and leave the bathroom.

When I walk out Peeta is fully dressed and is sitting on the bed. "Are you done?" He asks. I nod and he walks into the bathroom. He's only in there for a few minutes and when he comes out his hair is no longer all over the place and his teeth are as white as ever. He walks over to his desk and picks up his jacket. He puts it on and then looks at me. "Katniss, do you ever take your jacket off at school?" I instantly feel self-conscious, he's noticed. I shake my head no. "It's because of your bruises and scars, isn't it?" he asks. I just silently nod my head, lying to him is useless.

He walks over to me and I just look into his eyes. He carefully slides my jacket off my shoulders and lets it land on the floor. I go to cross my arms over my chest but Peeta stops me by holding my hands. "You're beautiful, every part of you." Then, starting at my wrist, he starts kissing all of the bruises and scars on my left arm. Once he's done with my left arm he moves to my right arm and does the same. Every where his lips touch my skin feels like fire. I close my eyes and take a deep breath. He stops kissing my arms and I feel his breath on my ear. "Beautiful." He says. Then his lips are on mine. It's just a small, gentle kiss but right now that's all I need.

I feel his breath in my ear, "We have to go eat now." I nod my head and open my eyes. I slip my jacket on because it's cold and because even if I can show my scars and bruises around Peeta, others will judge me. Peeta grabs my hand and leads me down stairs. When we get there Peeta's mom has two bowls of warm oatmeal. I eat as much of it as I can, fearing that I might lose it later. Peeta's mom takes our dirty dishes and then heads into the kitchen. She calls over her shoulder, "Have a good day at school." Peeta grabs my hand and then we walk out of his house together. As we start walking down the street that starts our journey towards school I notice other kids that are walking stare at us. There are even families stealing glances at us from behind their curtains. I lean my head against Peeta's shoulder, today is going to be a long day.

**Sorry! I am really sorry that I haven't updated in a long time. I went to Steubenville in Springfield, Missouri with my youth group. I had my best friend over twice. I had to help my mom with my garden, and I went to the fair. I really apologize and I hope that you guys like this chapter! :)**


	12. Chapter 12

**I didn't mention it before but the reason that Katniss and Peeta don't have lunch together is because they have it at the same time just in different rooms. (there are two different lunch rooms) Even though lunch isn't mentioned in this chapter I had to tell you guys before I forgot. **

Katniss POV

When we walk into the school yard all eyes are on us. I walk a little faster taking Peeta inside with me. There are more people looking at us inside because a lot of them are searching for things in their lockers. Peeta walks me to my locker and says, "Katniss, please try not to let them get to you." I try to ignore him and I touch the combination dial to open my locker when he grabs my hand. "I love you." He says. I sigh, "I love you too." He smile and kisses my forehead, then the bell rings. We now have five minutes to get to our classes. "I've got to go. See you in math, okay?" I nod, I can't believe that I have to wait a whole class period to see him.

He walks away smiling and I get my things for English class out of my locker. I close my locker and start walking towards English when a group of girls standing in the hallway calls my over to them. "Everdeen, come here." I slowly walk over to them. "So," one of them says. "I hear that you and Peeta and a thing now, is that right?" I nod and nervously tuck a strand over hair behind my ear. "I... I guess you could say that." She laughs and all of her little 'followers' laugh on cue. Then she takes a step towards me. "Back off, I don't know what he sees in you but you aren't good enough for him." Then in one swift movement she knocks my books out of my hands, sending them all over the floor, and walks away, the rest of the group following closely behind.

I bend down and start picking up the books that are now being stepped on by everyone using the hallway. By the time I find all of my books that have been kicked about, I stand up and the bell rings. Great, I'm late for class.

**I was thinking about making this chapter longer but there were a few people who wanted something to read tonight and this is all I could manage before bed. Enjoy! :)**


	13. Chapter 13

Katniss POV

I walk into class and the teacher hands me a late slip while giving me a harsh look. I walk to the back of the classroom and sit in a chair in the middle of the classroom. I open my English book and then my notebook. I try to pay attention but I see a tree outside of the window and my mind is no longer in the classroom. I see myself flying through the trees in the woods, bow and arrows in my hands. I see the mockingjays that my dad used to sing to.

I'm snapped out of my thoughts when someone drops a book on the floor. The teacher gives them a look and continues writing on the chalkboard. I try to take notes this time but before I know what my hand is writing Peeta's name is written over and over again on an entire page of notebook paper. I feel myself blush and I close my notebook.

The bell rings and I stand up. I gather my books and follow the flow of traffic out of the classroom. I make it out of the classroom and walk down a couple of hallways when someone knocks me over and my books and I hit the floor for the second time this morning.

I start to pick up my books when people start laughing at me and purposefully kicking my books away from me, I even get kicked a few times. I try to get up when I get knocked back down. I lay on the floor, thinking that I am never going to get the chance to stand up when someone is lifting me up off of the floor.

I turn around and I am face to face with Peeta. "Are you okay?" He asks. I shrug my shoulders, "This isn't the first time this has happened this morning." He sighs and pulls me in for a hug. "I'm sorry, I should have walked you to class." I shake my head, "Peeta, it's not your fault. I just have to be more careful." "I'm still walking you to the rest of your classes." I lean back and smile at him. "I thought you would say that." I lean foreword to kiss him when he puts his hand over my mouth, "Not in school, remember?" I laugh a little and let Peeta pick up my books. Then he walks me back to my locker.

I but my books back and pulls out the books I need for my next class. Then we walk to Peeta's locker where he gets his books. While Peeta is getting his books the girl that told me to stay away from Peeta, slams me into a locker. I hit my head and instantly get a headache. Peeta sees me and holds me up, "Are you okay?" I start to nod my head but it hurts, so I stop and press my hand to my forehead.

Peeta looks worried, "Maybe we should take you to the nurse's office, you hit your head a few days ago and you still have the bump-" I stop him by pressing my lips to his. He pulls away, "I thought I told you that we weren't allowed to do that at school." I shrug my shoulders, "It was the only thing I thought of that would get you to be quiet." He shakes his head a little and I keep talking, "Besides I can't miss my next class, I was already late for my first one." "Was it those same girls that just pushed you into the lockers?" I nod my head but stop again because it still hurts. He sighs, takes my books and his in one arm, and then wraps his other arm around my waist. Nothing else bad happens during our walk to our next class.


	14. Chapter 14

**For the record, I don't curse in real life but sometimes I do in my stories because I feel like it is something that some of the characters would do.**

Katniss POV

Peeta and I show up on time and set next to each other. It's math class, a class that I am really good in, so I don't pay attention. Instead I massage my forehead. The class goes by quickly. So do my third period and fourth period classes. After fourth period Peeta walks me back to my locker. Along the way a girl trips me. It's the same girl from this morning. I quickly stand up and am ready to throw a punch when Peeta grabs me wrists. "You don't want to do that." I look past him at the group of girls who are now laughing at me. "Don't I?" I ask him. He shakes his head. "Katniss you're better than they are." "What if I don't want to be?" He gives me a look and I sigh. "Fine." I admit in defeat.

He lets go of my wrists. When we get to my locker I drop my books off. "I could walk you to lunch if you wanted…" I look away from my locker and at him. "Peeta, we don't have lunch together. You're eating at the other end of the school." "I can still walk you there." He offers. I shake my head. "I can walk myself." He sighs but grabs my hands. "Fine, just promise me that you won't get yourself into trouble." He looks me right in the eyes, his beautiful blue eyes. Damn… "I promise." He smiles, "Do you want me to meet you here after lunch?" I shake my head, "I'll see you in our next class." He nods and kisses my forehead before walking off in the other direction.

On my walk to the lunch room I stay by the lockers so that I don't have people trying to trip me from both sides of the hallway. I get shoved into the lockers a few times but I don't hit my head like the last time, so I'm fine. I keep my promise to Peeta and don't fight back. I just keep walking.

I get to the lunch room and see what everyone else is eating. The main entrée of today's lunch is grilled cheese and tomato soup. I go through the lunch line and get the main entrée, the lunch lady warns me to let my soup cool off because it just got done cooking, plus a peanut butter cookie. I don't like peanut butter cookies but the lunch lady handing them out always smiles at me when I go through the line so, no matter what she is handing out, I take it on my tray. I also grab a chocolate milk, something Peeta got me to start drinking this weekend. I look around for a place to sit when I see Madge at the other end of the cafeteria with Gale. He has a black eye and I think about trying to find somewhere else to sit but two things stop me. First, I'll have to talk to him sooner or later and second, people have noticed that I am here and are now throwing bits of their peanut butter cookies at me. I start walking over to where they sit when I get tripped. I don't fall over or anything but my extremely hot tomato soup looses its balance and spills, landing on my left calf.

While working at the bakery, Peeta has gotten a lot of burns. He has gotten pretty used to them too. I don't work at the bakery. I'm not used to burns, so this hurts like hell. I gasp for a second and drop my tray on accident. Gale hears it and looks at me. In seconds he is out of his seat and by my side. He helps me over to the table he was just at. He sets me down next to Madge who rolls up my pants leg and starts wiping of the soup with some napkins. "I'll be back. I'm going to go to the bathroom to get some wet paper towels." I nod and look at my leg, it has blisters on it already.

I know Gale is looking at me but I just keep looking at my leg, I really don't want to se his black eye. He talks to me anyway. "Katniss, are you okay?" I laugh a little, "It's nothing that hasn't been happening all day." I look at him and he look really confused. "What do you mean?" I shrug my shoulders. "People have been tripping me, knocking my books out of my hands, and shoving me into lockers all day." "And you let them?" He asks. "That doesn't sound like the Katniss that I know." I look back down at my leg because I don't want to look at him. "I promised Peeta that I wouldn't get into trouble." He laughs at me, "So you're letting all of these people treat you like crap just because you promised Mellark?" I shake my head, "You wouldn't understand, just drop it."

He sighs and lets the conversation drop because Madge has come back. She continues working on my leg. After a few minutes she sighs, "I've done all I can do, I think you should go see the nurse." I shake my head, "I'll be fine, but I think I'm going to go get some fresh air. See you guys later?" Madge smiles and tells me goodbye while all Gale does is nod his head in my direction.

I stand up and carefully make my way to the back of the cafeteria. There is a door at the back that leads to an alley behind the school, the only reason the alley is there is because that is where the school dumpsters are located. I walk outside and let the fresh air hit my burn. It feels really good, and luckily the dumpsters don't smell too bad today either. I start walking around behind the school trying to clear my thoughts of the conversation I had with Gale.

If only there was a way I could listen to both of them. I want to listen to Gale and fight back but I also want to listen to Peeta, who care more about my safety than anything else. I sigh in frustration. Luckily the bell rings signaling it's time for the next class. I turn around to head back inside but the door is blocked but two merchant boys.


	15. Chapter 15

Peeta POV

I sit in my desk in history class tapping my pencil against my book. I'm staring at the door waiting to see beautiful braided Seam hair and a pair of the most breathtaking silver eyes, walk through the door. I keep tapping my pencil until Delly turns around in the seat in front of me. "Stop tapping your pencil, it's driving me crazy!" I sigh and stop tapping my pencil. I sat by Delly at lunch and was half out of it because the only thing I could focus on was Katniss. I have finally driven one of my best friends crazy with my worrying over Katniss.

I check my watch, Katniss only has two minutes left to get to class. I look around the room and notice that Madge is also missing. This puts my mind at ease a little, maybe they are together. I wait another minute and Madge walks through the door without Katniss. She comes and sits next to me. "Madge, where's Katniss?" She looks around the room. "I thought she would be here by now." "Where is she?" I say again. "I don't know." She says. "She got tripped at lunch and spilled soup on herself. It burnt her. I tried my best to clean it up, but I think she needed to go see the nurse. She told me that she would be fine. Then she went out of the back of the cafeteria to get fresh air."

I shake my head. This can't be happening. I have heard rumors of what has gone on behind the school on they aren't pretty. I try to avoid those conversations but to the best of my knowledge, two merchant boys hang out back there during lunch hoping a girl will go back there so they can get lucky. And for all I know Katniss is out there right now.

The bell rings and the teacher comes in, closing the door behind him. He makes his way to the front of the room where he starts writing the chapter we have to read on the chalkboard. I walk up there, intent on getting out of this classroom and to Katniss before it's too late.

The teacher turns from the board to look at me. "Yes Mr. Mellark?" _Think Peeta,_ _Think! _"I don't feel so well can I go see the nurse?" "Alright, but take Miss Undersee with you." _Katniss always said that I was good at lying... maybe she was right. _I nod and Madge gets out of her seat. We walk out of the classroom and start running.

The trip takes a few minutes because that cafeteria is at the other end of the school. It would also go a lot faster if we could run the entire way. We have to stop running every time we see a teacher.

Right now all I can think about is Katniss. We have to get there in time…


	16. Chapter 16

Katniss POV

I stare at the two merchant boys in front of me. They're pretty tall, about the same height as Peeta, with blonde hair and blue eyes. A lot of the merchants have blue eyes but none of them compare to Peeta's. His eyes are always so kind and gentle.

I take a step back and as I do, they take a step foreword. "Where are you going?" One of them asks me. "Don't you want to have some fun with us? Like you do with Lover Boy?" I shake my head, "It isn't like that…" "Shut up," the other boy says. "The whole school knows what you two are doing. You are just a little Seam Slut that will do anything for money."

I can tell how this is going… these boys want to do more than talk. I need to get out of here as soon as possible.

One of the boys turns to the other and is about to talk so I take this as my chance to escape. I turn around and start running but they notice me. One of them grabs my arm and throws me to the ground. My wrist is bound to be bruised and I think my ankle is also twisted. The boy that threw me on the ground gets on top of my and pins me down so I can't run again. "What was that for?" He says. "We haven't had our fun yet." He starts grabbing at my shirt, ripping little pieces of. Then he starts going under my shirt and heading up…

I want to fight back like Gale told me to, but I promised Peeta that I wouldn't get into trouble. The more I think about it, I realize that I will be in way more trouble if I don't fight back.

With that being thought I knee him where no guy ever wants to be kneed. He grunts and falls to his side, off of me, in pain. I start to get up when his friend pick me up and shoves me into the wall. I hit my head again.

Like Peeta said, I still have the bump from this weekend. Plus I hit my head this morning. Right now my head is pounding and I have black spots clouding my vision. He puts his arm at my neck, trying to cut off my air flow. "If you're being difficult than maybe we should kill you." He says. I try to think but with only a little air, the best plan I come up with is spitting in his face. When I do he lets go of me to wipe of his face and I sink to the ground about to pass out.

Just then the door to the cafeteria door swings open. Two people come out into the alleyway. I can't really tell who they are because I'm dizzy and most of my vision is occupied by black spots. One of them, the female, comes over to my side and starts looking at the back of my head. The other one is a boy, and he is fight off the two boys that were messing with me.

The female voice speaks, "Oh my god Katniss, your head is bleeding." I instantly know that this voice belongs to Madge. And if that's Madge then the boy who came with her must be Peeta. "Peeta…" I say weakly. I try to sit up but the sudden movement causes me to blackout and lose consciousness…

**I bought the Hunger Games DVD today and it came with a mockingjay necklace! I also got a Peeta poster! Today was awesome… :)**


	17. Chapter 17

Katniss POV

The first thing I realize when I come to is the throbbing headache I have, the burning I feel in my throat, and the aching in my ankle. The last thing I remember are the two merchant boys, then Madge, then… PEETA! My eyes fly open with the though of his name, but I quickly close them again because the lights are too bright.

Apparently my eyes where open long enough for someone to notice though because I can hear Madge. "Katniss, are you finally awake?" She says. I go to nod my head but I am over come by the feeling of dizziness. So instead I settle for a rough and scratchy sounding, "Yes."

When she walks over to a bedside table I finally realize where I am, I'm back in Peeta's room, on Peeta's bed. She picks up a glass of water and hands me two pills. One is for my fever and the other is for the pain that I am feeling. I gladly take both of them but it does cause my throat to hurt. I finish drinking the rest of the water and by the time that I am done my throat is feeling a little better. I also realize that my ankle is wrapped up, my wrist is bruised, and there is a bandage that wraps around my head, covering the spot that hit the wall.

I finally ask the one question on my mind. "Where's Peeta?" Madge sighs. "I knew that would be your first question. Not, 'What happened to those two boys?' or 'What happened while I was out?' or even 'How long was I out?'" She pauses before continuing. "He had to help clean up at the bakery. He stayed by your side the entire time that you were unconscious and he wanted so badly to be here when you woke up."

Then comes my next question. "So, how long was I out?" She looks at me like she is scared of giving me the answer but decides to tell my anyway. "You were out for a full day." This shocks me, "Why?" "Well…" She starts. "You never truly got rid of the bump that you got on Thursday, plus you hit your head on the lockers yesterday morning, combined with you hitting your head against a brick wall gave you a pretty bad concussion. We took you to the nurses office Peeta had taken care of those guys, and-" "Wait!" I interrupt. "Is he hurt?" Madge laughs a little. "No, he was so mad that there was no way they could win. They couldn't even get a single punch in." I nod my head, letting her know that she can tell my what happened after the fight.

"Anyway," She said. "The nurse said that you had sprained your ankle, badly bruised your wrist, badly bruised your neck, -" "My neck?" I ask. She nods her head and hands me a small mirror. I see that the front of my neck is bruised from where one of the merchant boys has his arm, trying to suffocate me. I sigh and nod my head again so that she can continue. "The nurse was worried that with how bad your concussion was, you might have slipped into a coma. Until you woke up we wouldn't know though because we couldn't afford to send you to a capitol doctor." When she says this I realize that Peeta still doesn't know that I have woken up, I also bet that he blames himself for the entire thing.

"Madge, I have to go see Peeta. Not only does he think that I am still sleeping, knowing Peeta he also blames himself." She shakes her head. "You aren't allowed to leave that bed unless you have to go to the bathroom." I shake my head back at her. "I have to go see Peeta, I don't care what the stupid nurse said." I try to stand up but I am so weak that I just fall back on the bed and get overcome with dizziness. I close my eyes to stop the nauseous feeling settling in my stomach.

When the nauseous feeling subsides I'm about to tell Madge to go get Peeta when I here his loud footsteps on the stairs.


	18. Chapter 18

Katniss POV

I would recognize those heavy footsteps anywhere, that is definitely Peeta. I feel my heartbeat speed up. Then the doorknob starts slowly turning. When he opens the door he is looking at the floor for a second before he looks up at me. As soon as he sees me his face lights up and his smile is brighter than the sun. "Katniss…" He says in disbelief. He runs over to the bed and wraps his arms around me in a careful hug.

He kisses me softly and then takes my face in his hands. "I didn't know if you were going to wake up. I was so worried." I pull him in for a hug. "Peeta, I love you and I'm so sorry. This is all my fault, I should have never gone back there." "What?" He says, "This is not your fault, it's my fault. I should have gone with you to lunch. I should have warned you that they were back there…" I shake my head but stop because I get dizzy again. Peeta looks a little worried, "Katniss, your head is bleeding again. I'll get you a new bandage." He turns and leaves the room to go get the bandages from where they are kept in his parents' bathroom.

I turn to Madge. "He hasn't been sleeping has he?" I ask this even though I know it's not a question. I saw the bags under his eyes. She sighs, "He hasn't slept at all while you were unconscious." I close my eyes, "I hate to see him like this…" I hear Madge laugh a little, I open my eyes and look at her. "You hate to see him like this? Katniss, you saw what you looked like for yourself. I'm pretty sure that he has his rights to feel the way he does." I understand what she is saying but I still worry about him.

Madge stands up, "I better head home, my dad will start to worry about me. I'll see you later Katniss." "Bye Madge." I say as she leaves the room.

Peeta comes in a minute or two later with a small first aid kit with him. "Where did Madge go?" He asks while taking out a bandage for the cut on my temple where my head hit the wall. "She had to go home, she said that her father was probably worried about her." He nods his head. Then he puts a bit of medicine on the bandage before placing it on my head. I wince a little as he puts the bandage on.

"I'm really sorry that this happened to you Katniss." He says. "Stop," I say. "Peeta, this isn't your fault. I really just want to forget that the whole thing happened actually." He nods his head and then my stomach starts growling. He laughs and stands up. "I'll go get you something to eat." "No." I say as he walks to the door. "Please just lay with me… that's all I want…" He smiles, "Of course."

That night I fall asleep in Peeta's arms and I realize that I want to fall asleep in Peeta's arms for the rest of my life. So before I fall asleep that night I whisper to him, "I love you."

**Hey, I wanted to let you guys know that I will be posting a very short conclusion chapter after this one. I don't really know where I want to go with this anymore so I'm just going to go ahead and finish it.**


	19. Chapter 19

**Very Extremely Short Epilogue**

Katniss POV

It takes me about a week to recover enough to go back to school and when I do Peeta is always at my side. (He got his schedule changed for me.) People still tease us but we don't care anymore because we have each other and we love each other.

Peeta and I escape our last two reapings and at dinner that night he proposed to me. I said yes and three years later Peeta and I are expecting our first child.

I never thought that growing up with an abusive mother could lead to something as good and as wonderful as Peeta. I never regret my decision to let myself love him. He convinced me that I wasn't like my mother. And I love him for it along with so many other things.

**Please don't hate me! I really didn't know what to do with this story anymore and so I apologize for this very terrible ending. Sorry…. :(**


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